Mrs Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay, Speaker of the National Assembly, has vindicated President Dr Alhaji Yahya Jammeh for empowering women and recognising women’s advancement so as to contribute immensely and equally to national development as they are the first human school.

Speaker FJC vindicated the Gambian leader yesterday while addressing the de-localisation meeting of the Committee on Gender, Employment, Labour and Social Welfare of the ECOWAS Parliament currently underway at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi.

Vindicating President Jammeh, Speaker FJC firstly saluted him for empowering Gambian women over the years, noting that even this meeting currently in Banjul being the second time, manifests the love and commitment the government of The Gambia under President Yahya Jammeh’s leadership has towards the advancement of women in Africa, recognised by ECOWAS.

She further thanked the Gambian leader and recognised his tremendous efforts towards women’s advancement and empowerment, noting that since 1994 to date, President Jammeh has appointed women in several top positions in which other African Heads of State took the example.

She added that this meeting is very important, more especially being hosted in The Gambia for the fact that the country has signed for the MDGs, especially on the empowerment and advancement of women in Africa and the world. She highlighted the several progresses the Jammeh administration registered on women affairs over the years, noting that The Gambia has signed for a long time the CEDAW Convention in the First Republic, and also in the Second Republic under Vice-President Njie-Saidy’s women leadership, endorsed the CEDAW and formulated policies out of it.

“The Women’s Bill is also in the offing” she observed, adding that the male National Assembly Members are ready to give full support to the bill, and are advocating for its urgency to be tabled before them” she said.

Speaker FJC then described President Jammeh as the ‘Avocat de’ la femme’  as according to her, he is an examplary leader towards women empowerment. She then stated that, if the Women’s Bill is tabled before deputies in the National Assembly and unanimously passed, it will be another plus for the Jammeh administration in women empowerment.

She emphasised the successes registered saying “Today, the Vice President and Speaker of the National Assembly, the Secretary General, the Attorney General and more Secretaries of State are all women. Several judges are women. We also have women Alkalos in the country. So the efforts of the Gambia governmnet is the best example in women advancement and we are proud of our leader” she said.

Unity among African women

For Speaker FJC, the African Union aims cannot even be realised if the women of Africa are not united to show that they are no more vulnerable. “But in The  Gambia the women are proud of President Jammeh as we are never left behind”.

The former ECOWAS parliamentarian then called on the women of the sub-region to unite, have solidarity as without which, the world will fail. “Today, all the countries are moving from Minister of Women Affairs to Gender Affairs. So women are very important in society.

Women are born leaders and without us, no man can do anything. Therefore, it is us women, who can make this world prosperous” she said. She then advised the women to cherish their rich customs and traditions noting that even the West are today emulating certain practices of the African tradition. She also called on them to forge together to see that wars, conflicts and all the unnecesary violations in which women are most vulnerable are stopped.

For his part, Dr Fatmata Hassan, 4th Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament said the ECOWAS Parliment highlighted the gender issues affecting men and women noting that the bronze still affects women. She observed that the Banjul meeting  is a furtherance for their mutual responsibilities to the emanicipation of women and children.

She also highlighted the importance of the CEDAW  treaty ratified by over 184 nations which according to her, is another important tool for partnership among nations to end human rights abuses among women an children. For the  Banjul meeting, Madm Hassan said that, this is for the fact that the country has put women’s agenda top and also the country’s strides to address the CEDAW issues by not only in words but by practice. She then confirmed that all the ECOWAS nations have ratified the CEDAW  treaty but emphasised the need for more implementation.

Yahya Hydara, chairman of the delocalised meeting of the Committee on Gender, Employment, Labour and Social Welfare at the ECOWAS Parliament spoke on the significance of the meeting noting that this is another attempt to evaluate the role of women parliamentarians. According to him, humanity includes women, men and children and also depends on them. He added that, no religion or culture justifies violation against women and called for an end to it.

Mr Hydara also highlighted the hierarchical differences between men and women, the choices of careers, the daily lifes and even political parties in the ways they choose candidates betwen men and women. He also dialted on genital mutilation as a concern more especially the children of young age given out for marriage without their consent.